


Cliché

by aristotlethot



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Avengers (2012), Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 17:38:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4885729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aristotlethot/pseuds/aristotlethot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'James ‘Bucky’ Barnes is well aware that he is pathetic. He is also well aware that he is a total cliché. Being in love with your best friend is one thing, but being in love with your best friend and constantly pining over him constantly is another.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cliché

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, 
> 
> I haven't written anything in ages! But I watched Winter Soldier today and I got some motivation to write something. Anyway, this is set before the war, and I've made a couple of changes to canon (aside from the obvious), and I was planning on ending the fic where it ends, but I might do a sequel? Also, this is unbeta'd so let me know of any mistakes!
> 
> Thanks for reading!

James ‘Bucky’ Barnes is well aware that he is pathetic. He is also well aware that he is a total cliché. Being in love with your best friend is one thing, but being in love with your best friend and constantly pining over him constantly is another. 

Bucky had met Steve when they were just kids, around right years old. He’d been picking fights with much bigger kids even at that age. Despite him being skinny and small for his age, he’d also be getting into scraps, because he had the biggest and toughest mouth. Steve could never have hoped to win these fights, so he was lucky that Bucky was always there to clean up after him. Bucky had always been tall and muscly for his age, and he'd always be happy to fight someone for Steve. Because he, upon reflection, realised he'd been in love with Steve since forever. He knew it was wrong. He knew what he was supposed to want in life, a pretty girl to fall in love with, a pretty house to live in, and to have pretty babies. But when he looked into Steve’s big beautiful eyes, or heard his musical laugh, Bucky realised that he didn't care. He knew what he wanted. 

He'd never told Steve. He was pretty sure that Steve wasn't… that way inclined. So, he figured away that he'd hide it, he didn’t want to ruin his friendship with Steve by blurting something out and making him uncomfortable. Instead, he went out with girls, lots of girls. Almost every girl at their school had wanted him at some point or another, and he'd been happy to indulge them. He’d go out on dates, maybe sneak a quick kiss (though once he’d got a little older, more than just a kiss), and then forget their name the next day. He knew it was unfair, but Bucky couldn’t stop thinking about how much more fun he’d be having with Steve whenever he was on his dates. He'd always tell Steve about his dates, usually in excruciating detail, desperately trying to detect any hint of jealousy. But Steve usually looked bored, or uninterested. 

So, Bucky went the other way. He was determined to set Steve up with someone, get him a girl, so maybe if he saw him happy with someone else, he'd be able to move on. He set Steve up with girl after girl, but he’d always point out the girl’s every flaw after, trying to put Steve off, because none of the girls were good enough for him. Nobody would be. Eventually, Bucky just stopped setting him up, because he got too frustrated and upset watching Steve talking to potential girlfriends, anyway, Steve never looked that interested in any of them. Bucky would still go on dates though, because, well, it was fun. And he was still waiting on the day that he'd detect a bit of jealousy. Despite all the dates he went on, he'd always make time for Steve. 

Steve's mother had been sick for a long time, also as long as Bucky had known her. Eventually, her body gave up, and she died. Steve was distraught. Traumatised. After the funeral, he'd locked himself away in his tiny apartment for days on end. Bucky would never admit how much that hurt. He knew that Steve was beyond upset, but being shut out like that was painful. 

It came to the point where Bucky had to sit outside the front of his place, and talk through to the door to Steve, practically begging him to be let in. Eventually Steve opened up, and Bucky had to conceal his look of surprise. Steve was a mess, his usually pretty blonde hair was greasy, dirty, obviously unwashed. There was massive black bags under his eyes, and his eyes were red-rimmed, like he'd been crying. He told Bucky to leave. He ignored Steve's request, and didn't let him see how much that hurt, being told to leave. Bucky went into the apartment, and Steve closed the door, and leant back against it. Bucky scanned over the room quickly. It was a mess, just like Steve. He turned around, and walked over to his friend. He pulled Steve into his arms, not saying a word. Just held Steve as he shook and cried into Bucky's soldier. Bucky shushed him, willing him to calm down. Seeing Steve cry made him want to cry, which is not something he was willing to do. Bucky couldn't say how long they just stood like that- hugging and crying until Steve was all cried out. 

"I'm not sure what I’m going to do. Where I'm going to go." Steve said shakily, his voice cracking from the crying. "I think I'm going to have to get rid of this place.” 

Bucky led him over to the sofa, and grasped one of Steve’s hands into his own. "Don't start talking stupid, you can come stay with me." Bucky insisted. Steve agreed after only a little argument, and was moved into Bucky’s place by the end of the week. 

It was simultaneously the best and worst thing in the world having Steve live with him. He loved it because he got to be around Steve all the time, Bucky knew he was safe, he knew that Steve ate and slept regularly, and he knew whenever he had to get Steve out of trouble. But then it was the worst because it just made him want Steve more. Having him around all the time –and sometimes only in a towel- just heightened Bucky’s feelings.

They fell into a good routine. In the morning, Bucky's mother would get them both up in the morning, and Steve would always go into the bathroom to get changed. Bucky’s mother would have a good breakfast waiting got them on them table (she was convinced Steve was far too skinny). They’d eat, then walk to school. Bucky would suffer through his lessons without Steve, but then he'd see Steve at break and lunch time and, although they did have a couple of other friends, they mostly stick together alone during these times. Then they'd walk home together. Once they were back, they'd relax together at home. Steve usually doing his homework- he always kept up to date on his homework. They'd listen to the radio together on the couch, and sometimes Steve would fall asleep on Bucky's shoulder, and Bucky would make sure not to move a muscle, so he wouldn't wake his friend up. 

All in all Bucky was happy. So happy. Life was good for him. It would be perfect if Steve and himself were something a little more, but he was happy with what they have now. 

That was, until Steve got a girlfriend.

She was a nice, pretty girl called Peggy. Steve met her in his mathematics class, where he used to help her with her algebra. Apparently they hit it off right away, and they arranged to go out on a date. 

They'd been on three, yes three, dates before Bucky was told about it. Bucky was pissed that he wasn't told, but he was more pissed that Steve had found someone and that it wasn't him. He hadn't even found out through Steve, one of their friends, Johnathon, had come up to Bucky at lunch and had brought it up. Apparently a girl in the grade above had seen them out together at the theatre, and now people were gossiping about it. After grilling Johnathon about it, Bucky had stormed off in a rage. It was lunch time, and he still had two lessons left of the day, but this was hardly his first time bunking off, and he knew he'd still be too pissed off to concentrate.

Thankfully his mother was still at work, so Bucky could lie on the sofa, stare at the ceiling, and sip the old bottle of scotch that had been in the cupboard for years. He'd was about a quarter of the way through the bottle before Steve had come home, stomping through the door, and slamming it shut, letting Bucky know he was pissed. Steve walked over to the sofa, and stood at the end of it, before sighing dramatically. 

"Bucky! You left me school early? What happened? You now I hate it when you cut class. You could do so well if you just tried a little harder and actually attended your lessons." 

"Yeah, well." Bucky grumbled, "Why don't you go and complain to your little girlfriend about it?" 

Bucky didn't even have to look over to be able to tell that Steve had gone bright pink. "I, uh, I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Yes you do." Bucky said, letting a little anger bleed into his voice." You're going steady with the Peggy gal, and you didn't even bother to tell me about it!"

"I'm not going out with now her, not anymore anyway." Steve muttered.

"Oh really?" Bucky said disbelief evident in his voice. "What happened to the happy couple?" 

"She broke up with me!" Steve shouted, the volume of his voice shocking Bucky. "She broke it off because she thought I was in love with you, and you know what? She was right!" 

Buck frowned in confusion, shaking his head slightly, not believing it. 

"What?" He asked quietly, wondering if this was Steve’s idea of a joke. No, it couldn't be, Steve wasn’t cruel. 

"Nothing." Steve said quickly, looking mortified. "Nothing. Forget I said anything. I wasn't going to say anything. I don't want to ruin our friendship, because you mean so much to me. Please, just forget I said anything." 

Bucky took a deep breath, before standing up off the couch, feeling lightheaded, and not just because of the drink. 

"Do you mean that?" He asked, slowing walking over to Steve, getting really close, so their lips were inches apart. "Are you in love with me?" 

Steve swallowed nervously, and nodded minutely. 

Bucky leant forward slightly, to place his lips against Steve's. Steve’s lips were just how he imagined them; soft and plaint. Steve responded immediately, reaching his hands up to twine into Bucky’s. Bucky kissed him enthusiastically and wrapped his arms around Steve's waist. 

Bucky knew it wouldn't be easy. He knew their love wasn’t something that was generally accepted in society, but Bucky was willing to do anything to make this work. Anything at all. 

"I love you, too, by the way." Bucky said leaning down to softly kiss Steve’s lips. 

Everything was perfect, life was like something out of a daydream. That was until, a radio broadcast announced that they'd gone to war against Germany, and a few days later, a letter came in the mail, stating that one James Barnes would be conscripted into the army. Oh shit.


End file.
